I feel like my family did okay today

As a family, we had a pretty decent day. There was no real excitement and that's the kind of day I like to have whenever possible. Gavin had his IVIG Infusion, while I got some work done and the E's played the Xbox together. There was no fighting the entire day and I can't remember when the last time that happened. I've been very focused on the arrangements needed for our upcoming trip. I'm getting really nervous about this because I'm on my own and won't have any help. On many occasions, I find myself struggling at home, and the idea of taking the kids on a 2,200 mile+ cross country drive makes me wonder if I've lost my mind. The reality is that I question my abilities all the…

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How my #Autistic son overcame his anxiety today

We had a really busy day today and I'm quite tired. We had our share of ups and downs I wanted to point out something that happened, as well as how I handled it. As I mentioned the other day, we were celebrating Gavin's 20th birthday today. Most of my family, including myself and the boys, went bowling this morning and out to lunch afterwards. Overall, this was a very positive experience and for the most part, everyone had fun. The boys are very good bowlers. Unfortunately, Elliott became overwhelmed by all that was going on and his anxiety went through the roof. Lately, Elliott has been struggling with significant anxiety and quickly becoming overwhelmed in social situations. Elliott didn't want to go out to eat because he'd already had…

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We had a good day

We had a pretty good day. The kids arrived home from their mom and grandparents house around noon, and we had a quiet afternoon. Gavin decided he wanted pizza and chicken for his birthday dinner. We're not actually celebrating his birthday until Sunday but we always do a special dinner on the actual day. We started that tradition because there were times in the past where money was so tight, ordering dinner wasn't easy. On birthdays, we wanted the kids to have something special, something that we couldn't do very often. Anyway, I ordered Gavin's dinner and we watched  Impractical Jokers. It was a nice evening. Tomorrow, we're going bowling and out to dinner with family. It's kind of a unique way to celebrate his birthday. There's no school on…

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A Birthday We Almost Didn’t Get To Celebrate

Today is a big day in The Autism Dad household because Gavin turns 20 years old. This would be a milestone birthday on its own but for us, it's more than that. For the last decade or so, Gavin's health has become very fragile. I recently wrote all about that and you can click here to catch up. Long story short, there were times over last decade, where there was very real concern that Gavin wouldn't see his next birthday. There were times where Gavin was experiencing an autonomic crisis and it was so bad and latest so long that we were told to prepare for the worst. These are old photos but they are taken during an autonomic crisis. I'm grateful for every year we have with him and…

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I’m struggling to find balance

The boys are gone and I have a really quiet evening. I took my nap and finished season one of Guardians of The Glades before getting some work done. I'm still finishing up the next podcast episode and I'm not sure when it will release. Probably next week. I really want to get a few episodes in the tank, especially with our pending trip coming up. I need to book a few more interviews and go from there. It was important to me that I release the first two episodes of the season because they dealt with vaccines and vaccine preventable diseases. I wanted to bring everyone the facts from professionals in the medical field. I'm really struggling to find a better balance in my life. I have so many…

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I have some time to myself

The boys are gone for the night and I can just sorta exhale for a bit. I absolutely love my kids but it's so hard to see them hurting all the time. It eats away at me and it's tough to deal with. I just finished a 3.5 mile walk with my Mom and I think I'll get a nap in before getting some recording done for the podcast. I'm really tired and it's freezing in the house for some reason. The thermostat reads 68°F but it doesn't feel like that. I'm gonna crawl into my nice warm bed for a little while and recharge. It's just me and Ruby. The house is quite and I haven't heard gunshots in a while. ☺ The kids will be home around noon…

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Starting the day off with good news

I wanted to share a bit of very positive news this morning. I know it seems like everything is always negative here but it really isn't. The idea of being transparent means that you get a glimpse into the reality in which I live. The reality is, there are major challenges in my life and if I wasn't open about them, what you'd be reading was nothing more than spin or fantasy. With that said, I'm super stoked to share this today. For months and months, my youngest, Emmett, has refused to sleep in his own bed. He's been through so much and sleeping near me is the only way he was able to fall asleep. It's problematic and has significantly reduced my overall quality of sleep, but as a…

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How @ProbGenetic is helping us take a MAJOR step forward in the search for answers

If you've been following our story for a while, you likely know that its been on a very long, very challenging journey with Gavin for most of his life. If you're new here, I'll give you a bit of backstory, to help put the significance of what I'm about to share with you, into the proper context. Gavin will be 20 years old on January 18, 2020. He deals with more than his share of serious physical and emotional health issues. Gavin began regressing about the age of 4. The only way I can describe it is to say that he was put to bed Gavin, and he woke up an entirely different kid. The change was simply that profound. I know this sounds crazy but it was like someone…

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